Chapter 15. Help Them Grow or Watch Them Go:A Development Edge Gives Retention Results

Beverly L. Kaye

Today's business world is characterized by globalization, increasing competition, an ever-accelerating pace of change, an overabundance of information, a never-ending technology revolution, a growing number of mergers and acquisitions, and a declining talent pool. In this chaotic world, a business can only survive if it can attract the "best and the brightest" to its workforce. It can only thrive if it continues to grow and develop, and thus retain the talents of its workforce. This new business reality demands that managers, not the human resource department, take responsibility for attracting, developing, and retaining the talent in their organizations. Managerial success is now inextricably linked to talent management. So, how do you manage talent?

When studies are conducted to find out what employees look for in a job, or what they want from their work, or what would keep them at their current organizations, something having to do with their careers seems to pop out before the expected answers of dollars, perks, or benefits. Still, organizations look primarily at the latter as a motivator or a reason for people to stay. Far too many managers throw up their hands and say that if there are no direct paths to promotions available, with the commensurate dollars, perks, and benefits, there isn't much they can do to support the careers of their people. We think there is another way to look at this.

Our research in career development over the last 20 years has shown us that there is something managers can do, and doing it can make a huge difference. What employees say they really want, vis à vis their careers, is a relationship with their managers whereby they can have open, honest, two-way conversations about their abilities, interests, and options. They want their managers to listen to their perspectives, offer their points of view, and provide encouragement and support. They don't expect their managers to have all the answers, but they really want to have the dialogue.

A Pop Quiz

As a manager, if you are wondering where to start, here's an idea. Take a few minutes to complete the following short assessment. Think about your current relationship with your direct reports and the degree to which you do the behaviors listed in each box. Give yourself points in the space provided under each box: 1 point if you are not sure, 2 points if you feel you do this but realize you could definitely improve, and 3 points if you feel you do this naturally and think you're pretty good at it.

The points you gave yourself on this assessment provide you with a quick indicator of your use of, and hence your comfort level with, each of five "managerial musts" or skills we have found are fundamental to the process of career development coaching. We have assigned labels, beginning with the letter L, to each of these coaching skills:

Table. EXCERCISE 15.1 Management Self-Assessment

• Listen
• Level
• Look ahead
• Leverage
• Link

While each of these skills has its own unique focus and direction, they build on one another to form a comprehensive model for career development conversations and coaching between managers and their employees. Managers who want to effectively and successfully manage their talent will develop and use these coaching skills in regular career conversations with their employees. This can result in increased employee satisfaction, performance, and ultimately retention. Let's take a closer look at each of these skill sets.

Listen For Employee's Skills, Interests, and Values

The first three behaviors in the assessment relate to the skill of listening. To get peak performance from your employees, to help them grow and develop in a meaningful way, to maximize their potential, and to get them to want to stay, you have to really get to know them. You have to know them not just as employees, but also as individuals with unique skills, interests, values, career aspirations, and desires. If you answered "not sure" or "needs improvement," you'll want to pay special attention to the following description and suggestions.

As managers, all too often we assume that we know the skills and abilities of the people who report to us. Unfortunately, this is not always the case; as a result, valuable corporate assets, the talents of our people, are underutilized or misdirected. The more accurately you can deploy the talent on your team, the more you will be able to match a business need with an appropriate and timely response and the more likely you will be to meet or exceed your business objectives.

The concept of matching people (their skills, interests, and values) to positions (duties, responsibilities, competencies, and skill requirements) is known as career fit. Career fit suggests that when people "fit" with their positions, the result is increased job satisfaction, quality, productivity, morale, and a greater likelihood that they will continue to grow and develop. As a manager, how do you get the information that you need to assess career fit?

Encourage your employees to talk about themselves: their skills, interests, and values. Ask your employees questions to help them understand, clarify, and articulate their unique attributes and how these qualities contribute to the organization. Probe more deeply into their career aspirations and dreams. Challenge them to think about their potential for growth and development, and help them talk about any concerns they may have about their current position or their future career aspirations.

The toughest part of getting your people to talk is to be quiet and listen, really listen, to what they have to say. Listen without problem solving, judging, or interrupting. Listen and ask questions to make sure that you really understand what makes them "tick." Listen as if you were sitting on a jury in a high-profile case.

If you listen carefully and ask effective, clarifying questions, you will learn about them and their career fit in their current positions relative to their future career aspirations. You will build a new relationship and establish a valuable bond. You may uncover a goldmine of talents not previously recognized. From a retention perspective, your ability to listen is critical. Employees want their managers to know them as individuals, to understand their abilities, and to capitalize on them. Try the following questions:

• Which assignments have most challenged you? Least challenged you? Why?
• When you are having a really good day at work, what values, skills, and interests are present?
• What part of your education or work experience has been the most valuable to you over the years?

Level About Their Strengths and Development Needs

Behaviors 4, 5, and 6 in the assessment relate to the leveling skill. Leveling means giving employees honest and direct feedback regarding performance and development needs. This isn't the annual performance appraisal feedback session many companies require, in which you critique the employee's performance over the past year. This is constructive, developmental feedback, provided on a regular basis throughout the year that focuses on the employee's strengths and opportunities for growth and development in the future, in line with his or her current position and career aspirations.

As a manager, your job is to have a conversation with each of your employees to determine if they are in the right positions or if there are other positions in the organization in which their talents could be better utilized. You also need to ensure they understand and can perform the duties and responsibilities required by their positions and that you have established clear performance standards and expectations. Once you have had this conversation, you are in a position to monitor their performance and provide them with feedback on both what they are doing well and any opportunities that are available for performance improvement, growth, and development.

This conversation is a two-way street. As manager, you need to be open and honest about how employees are performing in their current positions, how they can improve, and what they need to do to achieve their career goals. Cite specific examples. Employees have a major responsibility too. Employees need to ask for feedback, not just from you as their manager, but from other managers and colleagues as well. When employees solicit feedback from multiple sources, they get a more accurate picture of who they are and how they are perceived. When employees receive feedback, they need to ask questions to ensure their understanding; they need to reflect on what is said and on the areas they know they can improve. Your feedback and the feedback of others will help employees make better career decisions and establish more realistic career goals. It will also help employees grow and develop in a meaningful way that is aligned with both their current position and their future career aspirations.

Constructive developmental feedback will help employees grow faster and smarter, while increasing retention. Our research suggests that employees often leave organizations because they have no idea how they are perceived in terms of strengths or development needs or if they are valued as key contributors. This underscores the importance of the feedback process to both the individual and the organization. Some questions you might ask to begin this conversation include

• If you asked three people in the organization to give you feedback on your greatest strength, what would they say?
• If you were to list your number one strength and number one liability, what would each be? How do you know?
• What would you say are the most critical areas I would select as essential in your current position? How would you rate yourself in these areas?

Look Ahead at Trends, Business Needs, and Company Culture

Behaviors 7, 8, and 9 in the assessment relate to the skill of looking ahead. Looking ahead means that you and your employees have to look into the future to identify emerging trends, business needs, and cultural characteristics. Looking ahead means that you and your employees have to look beyond your departmental borders, beyond your comfort zones, to identify and collect information on the larger organization as well as your industry, profession, and community. You may also need to identify relevant regional, national, or global labor market trends. You need to look for any and all information that may impact development needs or career aspirations.

Looking ahead is critical for your employees' career planning and development success. After all, if they don't know what your company's business strategy and direction is, where your industry or profession is headed, or what's happening in the labor force, how can they identify future competency and skill requirements or align their development with the business needs? If they don't know what organizational changes are underway or where the future job opportunities are, or aren't, how can they set realistic career goals? Effective career planning and development demands information. The more reliable and current the information is, the better. So, where does all of this information come from?

Because you are a manager, you frequently have access to business information that your employees don't have. If this information relates to their careers and development, share it with them or point them in the direction to get it for themselves. If you know of company sources where relevant information may be found, educate your people about them. If you know of key people who might have useful information, you should do what you can to open the doors so that your employees can gain this information directly. When your employees know in advance that tough times are ahead or that changes are coming, they can prepare contingency plans. This is far better then being caught unaware.

The important point about looking ahead is that you work with your employees on an ongoing basis to identify and share information that would be useful for or relevant to career planning and development. Then, you help your employees use this information to prepare realistic plans that are aligned with the business direction, and you use it to provide them with better coaching, guidance, and support. This information sharing can also help you with talent retention. Frequently, just knowing more about what the future may hold will keep employees around. On the other hand, a lack of information and the uncertainty it brings may cause them to leave for imagined "greener pastures." You might ask these questions in a look-ahead conversation:

• Have you read the organization's annual report? What new directions stand out? Does this suggest any important skill areas that you need to develop?
• Are you optimistic about the organization's future? What are the specific reasons you feel this way? Do you see new opportunities for yourself?
• What do we need to get better at? Faster at? Smarter at? What implication does this have for your career?

Leverage Employees' Options and Goals

Behaviors 10, 11, and 12 in the assessment refer to the skill of leveraging. Leveraging is helping your employees identify multiple, realistic options for their career growth and development. Given the rapid pace of change in today's world, it is imperative that employees have multiple options and corresponding goals and plans. When employees have multiple options, and changes occur, they can simply switch gears and move to the next logical option. Without multiple options, employees risk running into dead-ends. So, how exactly can you leverage multiple options and plans?

First, you can help your employees understand that there are at least six ways employees can move their careers along.

1. Enrichment or growing in place: Future career aspirations will never be achieved if employees aren't keeping their competencies and skills current or aren't performing up to the standards of their current position. In today's world, all employees must include this as an option in their plans.
2. Lateral or moving across: This move involves a change in job, but not necessarily a change in level of responsibility.
3. Exploratory or looking around: This involves searching for the answer to questions like "What else can I do?" The goal is gathering information so better decisions can be made about next steps.
4. Realignment or moving down: Downshifting can be an effective strategy for balancing work/life priorities. It is also a great strategy for technical employees to consider when they move into a management position and discover they aren't happy.
5. Relocation or moving out: Leaving the organization may be necessary when an employee cannot find career fit where they are.
6. Vertical or moving up: The most traditional career goal. Yet, today more than ever, it may not be everyone's first choice. Balance and time for family and outside interests have become more important to all age groups. Vertical moves often do not afford this.

As a manager, you also need to help your employees understand the importance of written career development plans. The best development plans list specific goals for learning and growth in the current positions as well as options for the future. All of the research that has been done regarding career success factors underscores the importance of establishing written goals with corresponding actions and timing. You need to ensure that your employees' goals are aligned with your business goals at the departmental, functional, and corporate levels. Alignment ensures that both employee and employer needs are being met, and it bridges the gap between jobs and careers, providing mutual benefits. Some questions to ask at this phase include

• What are some of the career goals you're thinking about?
• Which goals seem most in sync with where the organization is going?
• Which goals will position you best for the future?

Link Employees to Resources

The last three behaviors, 13, 14, and 15, relate to how well you link your employees to the resources they need to move their career aspirations from vision to action. They may need information, contacts, opportunities for growth, or channels for development. It is up to you to provide the guidance, encouragement, and support they need, but, once again, you can't do it for them.

The key to effective linking is for you to understand that your employees' ongoing growth and development is good for them, good for you, and good for the company. The employees keep their skills marketable and achieve their career goals. You establish a reputation as a development-minded manager, so talented employees want to work for you, and you have the right people with the right skills to achieve your business objectives. The company has a workforce that is continuously learning, growing, and developing in alignment with its strategy and direction. Hence, it is more competitive in the marketplace.

As a manager, it is important for you to help your employees grow in their current positions. You need to work with them to find ways to increase their career fit. You also need to ensure that the assignments that you give them provide opportunities for learning. One of the best ways to do this is to ask them questions as they complete their assignments, like a debriefing session. Ask them what worked and what didn't work. Ask them what they would do the same or differently in the future. Ask them how the tasks could be streamlined. Ask them if their customers are satisfied. The point is they need to reflect on what they have done so they can learn from the experience.

Another way you can help your employees grow and develop is to craft a learning assignment with them. We like to use a three-level learning process. Level 1 is conscious observation. Have the employee observe an experienced person doing the job, knowing that he or she will have to do it in the future, so they are really "tuned in" to what is being done. Level 2 is selective participation. Have the employee complete certain portions of the job, with the experienced person by his or her side, so the employee can learn it in manageable chunks. Level 3 is key responsibility. At this point, the employee is taking the lead responsibility for the job, and the experienced person is just there in case he or she is needed. This is an excellent way to cross-train your employees, increase their competencies and skills, keep them engaged and challenged, and simultaneously give seasoned employees a chance to pass on their knowledge. What better way to build succession plans then to see how people do in other positions before you need to move them there?

You can also help your employees grow by introducing them to your professional network or helping others who can serve as mentors or coaches. You may also have employees who need to learn in a traditional setting, namely the classroom. Perhaps your company provides the training, or the employee may need to complete a formal degree program. In any case, your job is to connect employees to the resources they need to succeed. These questions might help you to engage in this essential part of the career conversation:

• What training programs or educational opportunities most align with your goals?
• If you could give yourself the perfect assignment, what would it be?
• Who would you like as a mentor or coach? How can I help you enlist his or her support?

Development Pays Off

Career discussions need not take a long time, but they should be regular and frequent. No one is exempt from concerns about their future. Individuals will interpret inconsistent attention to their career development as indifference on the part of their manager. When individuals feel that the organization doesn't care, they withdraw their commitment and energy. No longer is it possible to demonstrate this interest by making decisions for others, nor is it possible to have all of the answers. Employees are not asking for decisions or answers. The skill sets described here demand that managers truly understand their employees' talents and that they challenge and channel that talent appropriately.

You are expected to build a work environment in which your team can thrive, remain competitive, and develop specialized knowledge or skills. You construct the pipeline for the flow of talent in your organization. You build the pipeline; your employees traverse it. When your people feel that you care about developing their talent, they believe the organization cares. Their commitment and energy increase and their retention increases too!